Kolade to Headline Academy of Pharmacy Investiture

Dr. Kolade

Martins Ifijeh

Former Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Christopher Kolade, is expected to be the lead presenter at the forthcoming investiture event of the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy. The diplomat will examine the place of Pharmacy in enhancing the quality and accessibility of healthcare in Nigeria.

According to the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Caleb University, Professor Fola Tayo, who doubles as General Secretary of the Academy, they have every confidence that Dr. Kolade will ignite robust self-appraisal in the profession with his lecture.

The investiture event, said Tayo, which is billed for September 15 in Lagos, will see six distinguished pharmacists being inducted into the Academy, a sterling gathering of accomplished pharmacists drawn from different sectors – academic, public and private.

The event will also enable the Academy assess progress so far made regarding the Pharmacy degree curriculum reviews currently ongoing across Faculties of Pharmacy in Nigeria’s universities. “Globally, the curriculum for Pharmacy training is rapidly evolving in response to the growing needs of the larger society,” adding that “we want to ensure that this is happening at the right pace in Nigeria too, such that the health and wellbeing of Nigerians can continue to be impacted optimally by Nigeria’s pharmacists working in tandem with other health professionals.”

The Academy, said Tayo, “is of the view that emphasis on research and development in the sciences in general and pharmaceutical and health sciences in particular, continues to wane dangerously in Nigeria, and believe that this can only spell disaster for a developing country like ours. Funding of research by government is poor while the private sector hardly sees the need to fund research. This, he said, is not good for the country, as the only way by which better remedies can be discovered and/or developed for ailments that afflict mankind, including those, like malaria that are particularly endemic in Africa and kill millions annually, is by research and development.

“The Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy is therefore driving advocacy to raise awareness in this area in order to prod government to better fund research and scientific education in general, as well as encourage wealthy individuals and charitable foundations to sponsor scientific research.”

The Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy brings together distinguished pharmacists across different spheres of life and helps to drive thought leadership, providing expert opinion on matters pertaining to the pharmacy profession. In so doing, it helps to ensure that the profession remains relevant to the needs and aspirations of Nigeria. Founded in 2014, it is the fifth such specialized Academy in Nigeria with others being the Academies of Science, Letters, Arts and Engineering, respectively.